Collision
by cherry valence
Summary: Something was always going to have to give. When Oliver sees Felicity on a date with an old classmate of his, he realizes the time has come to make a choice. He can take her now, or lose her forever.


Collision

. . .

Summary: Something was always going to have to give. When Oliver sees Felicity on a date with an old classmate of his, he realizes the time has come to make a choice. He can take her now, or lose her forever.

Note: Who am I to deny the hungry masses? As requested by incredibly popular demand, this is the extended version of Date Night II, one of the one-shot installments from my series _More Interruptus Than Coitus_. No need to read it (unless you want to) as that is incorporated into this story directly. Also sorry for how much incredibly longer this has taken than I said it would, who would have thought editing a story that was already written would have consumed my life so entirely?

. . .

"All these things that I am constantly learning about you," Oliver said, shaking his head and leaning against the door to her balcony.

He brushed his hands against the sheer curtain that hang above, ducking his head out of the draping fabric, and crossing the room with a smile.

"Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed, dropping her mascara from her hand and having to stoop to the ground to pick it up. "You scared the hell out of me!"

_At least she would have, but his habit of popping up unannounced had seriously impaired her fear impulse._

It was getting to the point, should someone break into her home to kill her, she'd offer them a drink.

"What? With that vicious monster?" Oliver gestured the mop of fur that was at her feet growling and baring her teeth at him.

"Down girl."

Addy barked at him, as if to prove her dominance.

"You could be an entree on someone's plate. I know a place."

Felicity ignored the exchange between Oliver and Adelaide and continued to apply her lipstick in front of the mirror in her living room. She hadn't had a reason to buy new lipstick in a while, and she was hoping the night would prove worth a trip to the Macy's cosmetics counter.

As usual, Oliver's timing was less than excellent-which was to be expected when someone just dropped in as they pleased. She was so glad that they had made the transition from him barging in on her in her office, to doing so at her home so effortlessly.

Now, for some people this might have been awkward, Felicity conceded this point as she capped her lipstick and slipped it in her evening bag—_also new_. Not so for Oliver. He made scaling a girl's apartment building and letting himself in via the balcony look as easy _nigh, easier_, than taking the elevator and knocking on the door.

She brushed some invisible wrinkles out of her dress and pulled off her glasses.

"Maybe she's put off by the fact that strange men hardly break in through the balcony." Felicity said with a note of irony, "You think?"

"You can't really call it breaking in." Oliver said, "The door was cracked open, and on that note, you should be more careful. Anyone could have come in."

"Anyone, huh?" Felicity shot back, letting the words linger in the air.

_Of all the nights. _She sighed, this was going to get awkward.

He slid the door shut, tossing Addy a treat from his pocket. She chewed it up and rolled over allowing him to rub her belly, which he did, before picking her up.

Felicity switched to her contacts, blinking as they were in and feeling a little touch of nerves. This was her first real date, the kind with any sort of serious potential in far longer than her pride would allow her to admit.

"Felicity," Oliver looked her over. "You're all dressed up. What's the occasion?"

"You did not just notice that!" Felicity said, with look of incredulity at him as he held up the puppy scratching its belly; Addy looking up at him gratefully.

_Well, there went one more strong, confident woman under the spell of Oliver Queen. Traitor_. Felicity thought.

"Oliver!"

She couldn't believe it. Well, it wasn't like it had escaped her attention that she was not in fact Laurel Lance, but she thought at the very least he would notice that she looked pretty. Maybe even tell her so.

"You look stunning." Oliver said, weaseling out of the awkward situation with his charm. "Going to the benefit downtown-you know, I wasn't planning on going, but I could get my tux and accompany you...these functions can get dull."

He shrugged, "If you want some company."

"Wow." Felicity said, with an incredulous shake of her head, as she slipped into her shoes. "Thank you so much for the kind donation to the Felicity Smoak charity case, but as shocking as it is, I am capable of getting my own dates."

"I wasn't—I mean…" Oliver voice trailed off, seemingly taken aback when she snapped at him. "I didn't mean it like that."

Felicity tugged the other shoe on just as her doorbell rang.

"There he is." She said, still feeling a little inflamed by the patronizing offer.

"Who?" Oliver asked, his voice a little tight as he questioned her.

_A guy who actually wants to date me_, Felicity thought, feeling a little nervous at the prospect of a guy this…filled with potential.

He set Adelaide on the couch.

"Anyone I know? From Verdant, or the company?" Oliver walked around the couch as he quizzed her on her date. "Did you meet him during the Deadmau5 show last week?"

Felicity sighed, and rolled her eyes. This was Oliver, and Oliver was not going to just let it go.

"I wasn't aware the Spanish Inquisition had rolled back on in." She said dryly.

She went to open the door, and turned on her heel abruptly.

"Look, this is sort of important to me. Don't…" She bit down on her lip, "Just, be nice, okay?"

She turned back around, and pulled the door open.

Nathaniel Fordham was handsome in the Guess model sort of way. Tall and muscular, with high angular cheekbones and a charming, dimpled smile—it had made her melt.

"Hi Nate, come on in, I'll be ready to go in one second." Felicity rushed, eager to minimize any contact between the very hot CEO of Fordham Consortium and the equally hot and currently glowering billionaire that seemed to turn into a simmering stone statue. "This is my friend—"

"Oliver Queen!" Nate supplied, with a grin. "Long time no see. I was glad to hear that you returned from the dead—I didn't know we had a friend in common though. Ollie, I tried to call for ages once I head you were back, but you never returned my calls."

He gestured to Felicity with a smile.

"You two know each other?" Felicity gestured between them, not seeing a look of much like, never mind love, on Oliver's face.

She swallowed a little nervously, "Isn't that nice?"

_This was what she got for thinking she could actually have a nice date on her night off._

"Know each other?" Nathaniel clapped Oliver on the back. "We go back so far! Oliver was one of the best guys back at school—man, the stories—remember the time you and Tommy—"

"You know, I'd hate to make you two late." Oliver said tersely.

"Oh, right." Nathaniel turned to Felicity, "Ready to go? You look incredible."

Felicity said a little prayer of thanks. They were actually making it out of there in one piece, and Oliver was…well, not saying much which was an improvement over being big brother-ed to death by him.

"I'm all set." She glance to Oliver, "Have a good night. Make sure you close the door for Addy."

Nathaniel wrapped his arm around her waist, and gave Oliver a wave and a little grin as they left.

"Nice seeing you man."

. . .

As Felicity walked out of the door, her golden shawl wrapped around her shoulders, pocketbook in hand, and Nathaniel's arm wrapped around her waist Oliver fumed, consumed by equal parts jealousy and concern. The way that Felicity was looking at Nathaniel, well…the last time he saw her looking at someone like that it was—

_You, you idiot, _the voice in his head berated him. Another successful shot at failure, way to go. The girl only liked you for the last six months. Anytime over the course of the last six months you could have taken a shot, could have let her know that you liked her—

Addy barked at him, interrupting his chain of thought.

"There's a perfectly nice Chinese place down the block," Oliver told him, "You don't want to know what they do to dogs like you."

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and dialed Tommy.

"Hey Tommy—yeah, I know the charity ball is tonight. I need a favor." Oliver sighed, "Do I still have a tux at you place?"

Oliver crossed the room over to the balcony, and watched as they drove off in a limo.

"Great." Oliver said, when Tommy confirmed that it was indeed in the closet. "Can you take it and leave it at the front desk?"

Oliver locked the balcony door, tossing Addy another treat before slipping out the front door of her apartment.

"One other thing." He locked the door behind him, "Nate's blowing back through town. He's with Felicity—keep an eye on him, will you?"

He shut the door behind him and pulled out the keys to his bike.

"You're the best." Oliver said when Tommy promised he would. "Thanks."

. . .

"Hard to believe he had the nerve to show his head around here." Tommy said, glancing away from their old classmate and Felicity to Oliver. "How about that, it still fits."

_Of course he did,_ Oliver thought as he straightened the ice blue tie at his throat discreetly, _Nathaniel Fordham was all nerve. _

"It made do." Oliver said, watching as Nathaniel handed Felicity a glass of champagne and she laughed at whatever it was he said to her.

His annoyance over that wasn't even jealousy, he decided. Nathaniel was too much of an ass to have possibly made Felicity who was intelligent, and witty, and beautiful laugh.

_You make her laugh_, he thought. This was just obnoxious date-flirting. She didn't know better, she was a nice girl, completely oblivious to his brand of scum.

"You said the next time you saw him, you were going to knock him out." Tommy noted, sipping a glass of champagne slowly. "Bad timing, huh?"

"Did you lose track of Laurel already?" Oliver shot back, feeling a little bristly about the entire situation.

He didn't like being at this end of the stick, it was not his thing. Nor did he have the capability to deal with this kind of jealousy in a productive way. All he could continue to think about was the compound bow in his car. That was what he got for insisting on lighting around town on his motorcycle.

Tommy chuckled, "Laurel spotted the DA, so I might not be seeing her for the rest of the night. What's the plan? Do we have a plan or is this like when we stole the answers to the chemistry midterm?"

"To watch," Oliver said, "And to wait."

"Why don't you just tell her that Nate's a raging asshole?" Tommy asked him, passing him a glass of champagne. "It's not like it's a lie—he hasn't changed, I can tell you that."

"It didn't seem like my place." Oliver said, taking it and not drinking. "In my experience, women don't respond well when you tell them who they shouldn't be dating."

Tommy was quiet for a moment, finishing the glass of champagne before turning to look at Oliver.

"At the risk of being punched in the face," Tommy started.

"You know." Oliver interjected, facing his friend, "Any time you've ever started that sentence, it has not ended well for you."

Tommy smiled, not seeming to mind. Oliver was reminded again, it was the little moments like this that he missed. Tommy had always been a great friend to him.

"I'm a maverick." Tommy shrugged, "At the risk of it happening however, if you're going to be so bothered by other people dating her, why don't you take the grand leap and date her yourself. I mean she's really cute…"

As his voice trailed off, he seemed to realize he should stop while he was still far behind.

"Tommy." Oliver handed him back the glass of champagne harshly. "Shut up."

"And so we're going to do this the hard way, right." Tommy took a sip of the liquor. "No, I mean this makes sense, because you're you and why would we ever do it the easy way? Easy's overrated, right?"

Oliver considered all the ways his best friend was on the verge of driving him crazy, glancing away from the dance floor as Nathaniel leaned in close to Felicity, his face eclipsed by her flowing blonde curls. The frustration burned in his core, eating away at him as Nathaniel's hand slid across her hip and rested in the soft curve at her waist.

"Oliver!"

He turned abruptly, cursing the voice silently until he realized it was his mother.

_Of course it's your mother! She's hosting the benefit!_

Oliver grabbed Tommy, trying to put enough space between them and his mother and Felicity and Nathaniel before she recognized him crashing the night.

. . .

"Oliver, sweetheart what a pleasant surprise. You look so handsome, dear." Moira kissed him on the cheek, "I'm so happy you came tonight, after you needed you night at home so badly. But I really could not be more…_astounded_."

"Of course mother. The foundation is important." Oliver said with a nod of his head, watching furtively as Felicity left her date and headed for the ladies room.

That gave him a few minutes.

He'd forgotten that he had bowed out of the night days earlier, telling his mother that he really wasn't feeling up to entertaining the masses. He hadn't, and he didn't, but he also didn't feel like losing Felicity to Nathaniel.

Nathaniel could find another conquest elsewhere.

"I didn't know you were even paying attention to the work."

"Oh absolutely not the case," Tommy said clapping him on the shoulder. "Oliver's been educating me on the state of the metro schools art program all week. It's a cause he's very passionate about."

"And you as well, Tommy! This night is filled with surprises. You two boys supporting the arts." Moira smiled, shaking her head. "What a lovely change. I couldn't be more pleased. The last time my son showed this much interest in art, he absconded with the Starling City ballet."

"How time have changed." Tommy said, not quite able to hide the smile on his face.

Oliver could concede to that point, it had been a good weekend. Up until the yacht resulted in stranding him on an island in the pacific and leading to his father's death, they'd had some good times.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded his head in agreement. "It's a priority, mother."

_Thank you Tommy_, Oliver thought. It was nice to have a wingman again. It was nice to know that Tommy was still the guy who had his back whether they were facing a court of law, or their parents.

Through the crowd, he saw Felicity exit the ladies room to return to her date.

"Excuse me, please." Oliver said, ducking away and trying to hide as inconspicuously as possible.

Somehow, he didn't think she'd take well to him stalking her and her date regardless of how good his excuse was.

"Oh, but Oliver," Moira grabbed his hand before he could disappear into the crowd, "don't you duck away either Tommy."

Moira looked between them, Oliver saying a prayer that Felicity would be oblivious and in a daze. Really, there was a chance-maybe her contacts were out, and he'd seen her try and navigate with her real sight and it was like a rat trying to see in the daylight.

By all accounts, he thought she had to be legally blind, but no—and when he suggested as much she threw a book at him.

"Of course not." Tommy said, turning and giving Oliver a meaningful look. _We're screwed._

_Actually_, Oliver thought, _he was screwed_. Felicity would lambaste him, but Tommy was going to get to escape this one freely.

"This has been such an enterprise for both Queen Consolidated and Merlyn Global Group and I can't think of a better way to honor the foundation that you boys have become such champions of, than to say a few words. I was going to give a speech since Malcolm couldn't be here tonight—but what better way to show the contribution than to pass this off to our children—this is all about the children after all." Moira nodded her head. "You both have such experience when it comes to giving memorable speeches."

"Oh, mother I—I can't—"Oliver tried to come up with the right excuse to escape the responsibility.

Even he couldn't remain invisible in plain sight.

"You will. You'll manage."

She smiled, patting them both on their shoulders.

"I can't wait to hear what you have to say." Moira said before turning away, and calling out after someone else she recognized.

Tommy looked to Oliver,

"I sure as hell hope you have something up your sleeve."

Sighing internally, Oliver turned and watched as Felicity danced around the ballroom with Nathaniel. As they turned on the floor, a sparkling smile on her face, he felt the recurring flicker of annoyance. It couldn't get any worse.

"I have to find Laurel." Tommy said, "Maybe she can tell me what the point of this charity is, pull together a few words to help us out. You're going to play this cool, right?"

Oliver nodded his head tersely.

"I'm just making sure that he treats her well." He told Tommy, "I won't do anything rash."

"Okay," Tommy nodded his head, not looking entirely convinced. "I'm going to pretend I believe that. Don't do anything insane, and I will be back in five minutes, and you know—we can take him outside and beat him. Luckily, we know a lawyer."

. . .

Nathaniel Fordham was pretty much what she expected the billionaire president of a pharmaceuticals conglomerate to be like. He was pleasantly charming, flashing a perfect white smile each time she said something funny, he was over the top, suggesting that they could wake up tomorrow in Monte Carlo for breakfast on the beach if she desired it, and disappeared only twice to take business calls—apologizing profusely each time.

Okay, so she knew when she met him—bumped into him in the lobby at work—that it probably wasn't going to be a love connection. But he'd been nice, and offered to walk her out, and he actually _asked_ her on a date. The sad fact of the matter was that she just couldn't enjoy it. She spent most of the night thinking about how Oliver was probably patrolling the city without her—_and how was he managing without his computer girl?—_and what if he needed her help and she wasn't there?

Maybe she wasn't thrilled about the situation they were in, and sure she had a crush. Somehow she was pretty sure she wasn't the only girl in the metro area whose heart turned to mush every time Oliver Queen smiled. She knew that he didn't want a relationship, that he thought it would get in the way of the mission and…

Felicity sighed, finishing her third glass of champagne and feeling a little airy headed. She should call him. She should definitely call him and make sure he wasn't getting himself in trouble.

It was the responsible thing to do, the right thing to do as his friend. The necessary thing to do as his go-to girl.

"I just have to make a quick call." Felicity said, disengaging herself from Nathaniel, "I'm sorry Nate, I'll be right back."

"Take your time." He said with a flash of a smile. "I'll get us some more champagne."

Right, because of course she needed to consume more liquor. Liquor and a history of bad decisions had only proved that to her time and time again. _Have you already forgotten about college?_

As she walked away, pretending to go to the bathroom she pulled her cell phone from her purse.

No messages, but Oliver wouldn't interrupt her date. He'd just try and struggle through whatever it was on his own, especially after she'd been so insistent that he didn't ruin her date.

Felicity dialed Oliver's number, trying to find somewhere inconspicuous to talk as she waited for him to answer.

_C'mon, Oliver…_

He answered his phone surprisingly fast, and she was caught somewhere between a feeling of surprise and relief as she tucked some tendrils of loose curls behind her ear.

"Felicity, aren't you enjoying your date?"

There was a teasing note in Oliver's voice. Sometimes she was certain that he just knew that she harbored the titanic of crushes. How did you not fall in love with the city's savior?

"I'm just checking on you." Felicity said carefully, trying to impart an incredibly casual tone so he wouldn't suspect that the call was related to anything but. "You know, making sure that you haven't fallen into a storm cellar or gotten shot since I saw you last.

"It's happened once in all the time you've known me."

"You fell into a storm cellar?" Felicity quipped. "Oh Oliver…"

"You're adorable." Oliver chuckled.

"Well, it was one time too many. I guess." Felicity turned around, sighing as she leaned against the wall.

That wasn't a joke, watching him bleed from a gaping chest wound as she tried to figure out the streets of The Glades was one time too many.

She wished she was sitting in that dank and probably mildewed basement, helping him fight his war.

There was no reason to stay on the phone.

"I'm alive and well." Oliver said, "How are you?"

"I'm..." Felicity's voice trailed off, forgetting what exactly she was as a small crowd of people in the back of the ballroom seemed to diffuse toward the front of the room and she saw a tall, familiar looking man with dark blonde hair, and a phone against his ear as his crisp blue eyes scanned the room. It was really too strange, because he looked so startlingly like Oliver.

But it couldn't possibly be Oliver because he had made it startlingly clear that he would absolutely not be at this benefit.

"Oh, I'm having a wonderful night." Felicity said, stressing the word _wonderful_ as she slipped deeper into the crowd and hoped she would be able to obscure his vision of her.

Two could play at this game.

"Nathaniel is so charming. He taking to Monte Carlo." Felicity said as she weaved through the crowd, "Private plane and all."

"I never imagined you'd be so swayed by a jet and a fancy dinner." Oliver said, sounding a little disgruntled.

She bet. He didn't like not having the upper hand. Well, tough.

"Usually I'm not," Felicity said, "but when a charming, handsome man touches a girl like that and sweeps her off her feet…"

Felicity lowered her phone, watching his back as she lingered feet away. This worked better than she thought, she'd really felt that her chance of sneaking up on him were slim to none.

"Well, what girl could resist that sort of commitment? _Oliver_."

She slipped her phone into her bag.

"Fancy meeting you here." She said, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"I can explain." Oliver said, turning slowly with hands up in surrender, still holding his phone.

"Oh I bet you can. Remember, I've heard your excuses before." Felicity said, "So don't mind me for taking a pass this time."

Oliver nodded his head once, seeming to accept that she was right.

"That's fair. But do I get to make a case for myself?"

Felicity took a moment to consider this, nodding her head and then giving him a push, directing him into the empty hallway off of the ballroom floor.

. . .

With more force than he'd have imagined she was capable off, Felicity pushed him down the hallway.

A few blonde curls fell out of her updo and he felt an over powering urge to brush them out of her face, but when she snapped at him he realized it was far from the best time.

He hadn't actually planned on getting caught.

Oliver hadn't even realized she had gotten the jump on him until he heard the click of her shoes behind him. It wasn't every day that happened.

"No. No don't even answer that with one of your BS excuses!" Felicity said, looking a little enflamed by his behavior, "I am not your baby sister, and I'm not yours to take care of. So, you can put those way right now."

Felicity poked him in the chest hard.

"Unless you have a really, really good reason for this—we're barely friends."

"Contrary to what you think. I do care." Oliver said softly, seriously.

It seemed like the best alternative to standing there silently and having to watch her go back to Nathaniel.

"That's not an excuse for stalking me, Oliver. I don't need you to protect me. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself."

"I don't like him." Oliver said finally, struggling against the words.

"Well, I don't particularly like you very well right now." Felicity said, "I'm on a date with a nice guy. A perfectly nice guy! Whatever territory you're trying to mark, I'm not it—okay?"

He did realize that he wouldn't have forever to stand by and expect her to always be there. One day he'd have to change something, or give her up, and the more he'd considered it, the more he couldn't bear to do it.

Oliver pressed his hand into the cool tiled wall, blocking her and locking her between his arms.

"Honestly Oliver," Felicity crossed her arms over her chest, "If I didn't know you better than I do—I would say that you're acting like you're jealous."

If the island had taught him one thing, it was of the importance of timing. God knew, this wasn't the right time or the right place, but if he didn't he knew that he could lose her forever. At the very least, he would lose the Felicity that trembled when their flesh touched, that even in her bristling ire still leaned toward him, the one who challenged him to stop her, or to touch her.

"Oliver." Felicity said, glancing toward his arm, blocking her still. "Just let me go."

Oliver struggled to find the words, to make the words come out of his mouth. To find some way to tell her that if it was here and now or never—he'd take the risk. Because she was worth it.

"I don't want to be alone." Felicity said, something in her voice sounding like she was challenging him to take it on.

Oliver swallowed, leaning in close to her. He breathed in her scent, like poppies and melon and brushed his hand across her cheek. Felicity was warm and soft, compliant under his hand

"I don't want you to be alone." The words seemed to fill the space between them, and he felt a moment of fear, unable to look in her eyes, hanging his head low as he confessed his heart to her. "I want to be with you, but I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm not as delicate as you think." She said quietly, her voice firmer now.

Oliver sighed deeply, pressing his mouth to the top of her head. Finally, he looked down into her eyes and saw her looking back at him with a confidence he didn't possess himself. Maybe she could believe in them enough for the both of them.

Dropping his arms from the wall, he pulled her in close and kissed her deeply, his arms wrapping around her back as he held her against his body. She was supple and willing, he was firm and needy.

He would be whatever she needed, because she was the one who somehow silenced the darkness that he felt in his own soul. She was the light that reminded him of what was left to fight for in this city.

She moaned into his mouth, and he pulled her closer, unsure if he could ever let her go again.

. . .

Felicity dropped her pocketbook, certain this had something to do with the three glasses of champagne. Her head was spinning slightly as Oliver's mouth pressed against hers, tracing her mouth with his tongue and something inside of her stomach burned with fulfillment.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands sliding up the small curve of her back as their hungry bodies pressed closely together.

Oliver withdrew after a long moment, and she didn't realize until then that she was starved for air. Feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassed color, she looked away from him.

"I guess that's not such a bad reason." Felicity said a little breathlessly.

"Five thousand words a minute, and that's all you have?" Oliver asked with a smile.

"Oh! My purse!" Felicity turned on her heel, grateful to the gods above that she didn't have to face Oliver at this very second.

As she went to sweep the slim pocketbook from the floor the tip of her shoes caught in her dress and she stumbled, letting out a cry of surprise that was cut off as Oliver caught her in his arms.

"You're handy in a tight spot." Felicity said with a flushed smile, biting down on her lip as she looked into his clear blue eyes.

"Felicity!" Nathaniel stood no more than ten feet away in the hallway with an aghast and angry look on his rather pretty face. "What the hell is this?"

Oops. Somehow in the flurry of Oliver's assault on her lips she had forgotten that she had a date—a different date! It had all escaped her mind, but she could hardly be blamed, she could barely thing straight and—oh god, he was firm.

"I'm sorry, it's not what it looks like." Felicity tried to disengage herself from Oliver but he wouldn't quite allow her.

"Actually, it's exactly the way it looks." Oliver said, a slight possessive growl to his voice.

Well, that would have to go, Felicity said, pretending that she didn't actually find it ridiculously hot. Damn Oliver.

"I should have known that if someone was going around taking claim over _what wasn't theirs_, it would be Oliver Queen." Nathaniel said, "Some things never change."

In a swift move, Oliver set her down and moved in front of her.

"Maybe if you have something you want to say, or do, you should Nate." Oliver said, "Or are you more comfortable hiding out and telling it to reporters?"

"Screw you Oliver, we were sixteen. You're making out with my date."

"Well, I lost five years of my life so it's not that long to me." Oliver said, "And she's not negotiable."

"Whoa! I am not a part of the testosterone match!" Felicity stepped in between them, looking between Oliver and Nathaniel. "Oliver, take a step back."

She turned to Nathaniel, "I was a bad date, and I'm sorry but we barely know each other and—oh!"

Felicity let out a little cry of surprise as someone turned the corner, their face eclipsed by the shadows and punched Nathaniel sending him crumpling to the ground.

"Well, now that that's settled." Tommy walked toward them, wincing as he rubbed his fist and shook his head. "I knew you couldn't manage ten minutes without a fight and…_hello Felicity_."

"Tommy….hi." Felicity felt her face flush, certain that somehow he had to know.

"This explains so much." Tommy groaned, "That seriously hurts."

"Should've let me punch him." Oliver said.

"You know, I'm so glad that you're here with him right now." Tommy said to Felicity, "Maybe you'll have better luck making sure he doesn't get into fights with the rest of our graduating class."

"I'd say the chances are slim." Felicity glanced down at Nathaniel, wondering if he'd ever realized that in reality, Tommy had done him a kindness. He was a lot better off getting a fist in the face from him than Oliver.

"No problem," Oliver smiled, "It's been a long night, and I'm going to take Felicity home—"

"Like hell you are!" Tommy interrupted, "I just learned what this benefit is about, and I am not telling your mother your just took off Oliver. We have a speech to deliver."

Felicity turned to Oliver with a grin and a bit of glee.

"Oh, I could never leave without hearing your big speech." Felicity said, and then gave him a coy smile. "Besides, I'm all dressed up and you've never asked me to dance."

She stood on her toes and gave him a kiss, "Surprise me."

"Let's go." Oliver said with a sigh, clearly unable to deny her.

"Yes," Tommy exclaimed, pointing at Felicity. "You're fabulous. I love you."

And she thought she's heard it more than enough for her day already.

"He's not the only one." Oliver said softly in her ear.

She was an optimist, but she wasn't stupid. As they walked through the crowd, Felicity realized that none of this was going to easy. It might be the most difficult thing in the world. Regardless of how hard it proved to be though, she knew that it was going to be worth it.

Oliver might have made it off the island months ago, but she didn't see it clear out of his eyes until he told her that he needed her. So whatever came at them, they could beat it.

She hadn't wanted the easy road, she chose the hero, and she chose to never give up no matter how rocky the road got.

. . .


End file.
